The operation codenamed “Operation Barbarosa”
is the invasion of the Soviet Union by Germany and other Axis powers during the
2nd World War starting in June 1941. It is the largest land offensive
in history with 10 million combatants taking part. During the course of the
operation 3.8 million soldiers of the Axis powers, supported by 600,000
military vehicles, and 600,000 horses, the largest ever invasion force in the
history of warfare attacked the Western border of the Soviet Union on a 2900 Km
front. The German armies eventually captured 5 million Russian soldiers and
killed 3.3 million of them by starving them to death or otherwise. They killed
1 million Soviet Jews and millions of other Soviet civilians.
Initially the German forces achieved
significant victories and occupied some of the most important economic areas of
the Soviet Union (mainly in Ukraine) and have inflicted as well as sustained
heavy casualties. The German offensive got stalled in the “battle of Moscow” in
end 1941, and the winter counter offensive pushed the Germans back by 250 Km. The
Soviet army withstood the bloodiest blows dealt by the German army in Poland without
stepping back for which the German army was unprepared and that finally resulted in the German army’s defeat.
The war had about 1.2 million plus German military casualties and
4.5 million casualties on the allied side, the bulk of them being Russian.
The Germans lost over 2800 aircraft over 2700
tanks. The allies lost over 21,200 aircraft and 20,500 tanks.
The bulk of the fighting against Germany till
it got defeated on land was done by Russia alone.
Russia was then utterly outmatched by Germany
in both men and materials, yet stood firm and turned a defeat which looked
certain into victory.
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